Tech Whisperers: Inside the Playbooks of the Best Digital Leaders CI4CI Trailblazer: Afshean Talasaz on AI, Data & the Art of Anticipation
The lightning-fast rise of AI has come with a cost: the need to overhaul America’s power grids, pipelines, and water systems to accommodate its explosive growth. As trillions of dollars pour into this complete overhaul, there are key leaders paving the way.
In a special mini-series focusing on “Critical Infrastructure for Critical Infrastructure (CI4CI),” we’re shining the light on a few of the extraordinary tech leaders who are architecting, securing, and scaling the systems that power our nation and economy. Joining us to kick off the series is Afshean Talasaz, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology & Data Officer at Colonial Pipeline Company.
Afshean is a visionary and humble leader who tackles the complex and challenging problems others avoid while letting the results speak for themselves. From his perspectives on AI and tech innovation to his insights on problem-solving, communication, and vision, you are guaranteed to walk away with lessons that will help you level up your own Tech Whisperer playbook.
Join us as we unpack Afshean’s playbook to learn:
- The importance of a tight CEO-CIO relationship
- How Afshean developed his ability to anticipate upcoming trends
- How investing in the artistic side of his brain has influenced Afshean’s leadership
- How to manage the risk that comes with high-stakes, visionary decision-making
- How to ensure that every project returns a financial value to the business
- Why digitization is vital to long-term success
- Important considerations before layering AI on top of current business processes
Featuring submitted questions from:
- Bo Rogers, VP for Process Excellence & Strategic Projects at Colonial Pipeline
- David Benham, Co-Founder and Chief Product & Technology Officer at ROAM AI
- John Dickson, CISO, Colonial Pipeline
- Buck Wheaton, Director of IT Commercial Product Lines, ONEOK